Liversedge 4, Armthorpe Welfare 1: The strength of character of the Liversedge players was under scrutiny at Clayborn on Saturday and they responded magnificently, trouncing Armthorpe Welfare 4-1.

Liversedge have been inconsistent all season and are still not entirely safe from the drop from the Northern Counties East Premier Division.

Scoring has been a problem but midfielder Adam Goldthorpe hit a brace of goals.

He had been red-carded for two bookable offences at Eccleshill United in midweek but responded with a match- winning performance just four days later.

Liversedge had lost 4-1 at Plumpton Park, sparking concerns over their chances of avoiding relegation, but they bounced back to win against league cup finalists Armthorpe by the same scoreline.

"We always do better against the leading sides, they were in the top six so we expected nothing other than a win," said manager Wayne Bruce.

"We even missed a penalty when Daz Morris shot at their keeper. We thought we might pay for that a bit later because we have done so many times this season.

"But we were 2-0 up after about half an hour and we pressed on to win it comfortably in the end.

"We set our stall out and didn't let them back in it. They had a good ten-minute spell after they got their goal but we weathered that. It was a fantastic win."

Liversedge took the lead after just 14 minutes when Morris squared a through ball from Richard Walker into the area and Matty Flynn squeezed between the Armthorpe keeper and a defender to turn the ball in from close range.

Damien Melvin was in the area in the 32nd minute but while a strong tackle robbed him of possession, the ball rebounded to Goldthorpe wide on the left and he drilled a shot into the top corner.

The Doncaster outfit pegged the home side back when Mark Turner netted three minutes before the break but 30 seconds into the second half they were reduced to ten men.

Keeper Peter Hayes was caught out by Melvin's cross from the left and Matt Sykes turned in a header that full-back Des Bennett dived to save with his hands. He was dismissed but Morris made a mess of his spot-kick He made amends when he poked the ball home in the 74th minute. Four minutes from time Goldthorpe scored the fourth.